Mom Talk

I'll admit I've been a little run down this week with my high-maintenance one-year-old. So I thought the antedote for that would be writing down a list of what I love about this stage, specifically him at this stage:

~How he says a refreshing "Ahhhh" after taking a sip
~How he says "Mmmmmm" as he goes in for a kiss
~The fact that he LOVES dogs and loves to imitate them too (barking and panting - so cute, but the dog-food eating part not so cute)
~Sleep! He goes to bed just after 7 and wakes up just before 7 (and my wonderful hubby is the one who gets up with him xoxo)

It is entirely possible to:


~ be grateful for your husband's job but a little grumpy that he had to work late the whole week
~be totally in love with your kids and at the same time overwhelmed with the responsibility of it all
~be doing the most important job of the day (taking care of your kids) and thinking you weren't "productive" enough that day
~look forward to a "girls weekend" now that I'm not nursing, but be wondering if I'll miss the kids (and husband) too much to truly enjoy it (or is it the worry about what the house will look like upon my return that makes me wonder if it's worth the trip?)
~be totally and comletely grateful that these little ones are in God's hands!!!

I meant to do this for Gavin's 1 year post, but here it is...Daddy at an age we're unsure of (looks younger than 1 by the position), Dylan at 1 year, Gavin at 1 year, and me as a baby - need to find a one year photo. Similarities?

October 2009

The recent happenings:

Gavin talking: mama, dada, Ba-ba (Bentley), Eeeeee (for "cheese" when he sees a camera). His favorite thing to say is "Hi" with a wave, and he is a charmer!! Gavin can often be found climbing on all our furniture, chairs, couches, tables...

He is still eating his way through life...when in doubt - feed him! Needless to say, this requires many grocery store trips and stocking up at Costco. He truly eats more than Dylan and probably more than me. For example, in the morning he will eat an adult portion of oatmeal and fruit, then we try to figure out if the screeching is because he wants more or he wants to get down (still working on sign language). After awhile we give up trying to figure it out and get him out of the high chair. He promptly makes his rounds to each person and demands that they share their breakfast. This results in many arguments around Dylan's table... of course then Gavin always moves onto the dog food at some point. Ughhh...the dog won't touch it but Gavin seems to love chicken by-product.



He loves to put shoes on his hands and clomp around the house. Is often found playing with a car or train making great engine noises! Loves using walker toys but is still content to speed-crawl to where he wants to go instead of walk on his own. Is giving me a headache daily due to his teething attitude. The nursery worker at church said "He must be your first...or your last!" (AKA High Maintenance!!)


Dylan talking: "But why?" Gotta love that one! My friend from Dylan's preschool said her son started saying that the same time Dylan did so we're blaming it on their teacher :)

His best friends are Bryce from school and the neighbor twins, JT and Cooper.
Favorite show: Curious George

Still the best big brother around. The other morning, he offered to watch Gavin for me on the couch while I got him a drink and I look over to see his arm draped around Gavin as he said "Did you know I love you?" I'm sure 10 minutes later he was grabbing a toy out of Gavin's hand but it's the sweet stuff I choose to remember :) As I was finishing this post, he got up from his nap and said "Mom, I really miss Gav."

When I ask him what we learn at church, Dylan replies, "That God always keeps us safe." Good job class volunteers! I still prefer volunteering in the nursery where the kids can't talk which means I get to chat it up with the other gal on duty.


Dylan as a turtle at his preschool Halloween party

My lovable lion and fearless fireman

Merritt Island

How do I sum up the hands-down best family vacation? From the frolicking dolphin to the friendly manatee, the swimming, boating, laughing, eating, relaxing, fishing, more eating, firepit evenings with fireworks and drinks, pirate-theme tree house, awesome friends, gorgeous house...can't even name it all. Amazing! Can't wait to return one day!! Too many kodak moments to choose from, so I popped a couple in and I'm signing off...

Gavin officially turns 1! (September 21)

Photo courtesty of: http://www.virginiahartman.com/

Gavin started his birthday out with his favorite meal - pancakes! Although we celebrated both boys' birthday on the farm in Oregon, we decided to throw a little party here with Jason's family. The cousins always have a blast and it was a great excuse for a family get-together.

Oregon

Great Grandparents Elaine & Sherm, Grandma Carmen, and Dylan
Aunt Shannon and Gavin sharing blackberry cobbler - yum!

Dylan and Henry

Cupcake decorating

Daddy & Gavin taking a walk on the farm

Grandma and Gavin swimming at Black Butte Ranch

Wow! We had such a great time in Oregon! My extended family is amazing and the most gracious of hosts. The boys absolutely loved everyone, which was such a joy to see. We spent the first week in the Eugene area visiting my grandparents and aunts and uncles. Dylan loved picking fresh vegetables from Grandma Elaine's garden and playing with her great collection of toys. I was finally able to visit Creswell Coffee, my aunt and uncle's amazing coffee shop, and even enjoyed an evening of music where Uncle Paul's band played. Uncle Mark and Aunt Shannon hosted the boys' birthday party at their little farm and it was everything and more that Dylan dreamed a farm party could be. Goats, sheep, blackberries (and Shannon's blackberry cobbler!), barns, hand-churned ice cream, battery-powered jeep, climbing tree, playground, and on and on. The weather was even perfect! Daddy had to head back to work on Saturday and Sunday my parents and the kids and I drove to the mountains to stay at Black Butte Ranch. The house we were at was just perfect, with a great golf course view and a bike ride away from many playgrounds and activities. Dylan enjoyed horse back riding, swimming, canoeing, fishing, star-gazing at night, deer sighting, riding a two wheeler (with training wheels), and just being with Grandma and Grandpa. Gavin enjoyed playing with the back patio door. Seriously, I borrowed a Fisher-Price door/house toy from a girlfriend as soon as we got back after I realized what a great source of entertainment doors are! The loooong plane ride back with the boys by myself was manageable and we were blessed with the seats we had, the kind people that sat around us, and the easy layover. What a great reminder that God is involved in the little details of our lives!

Through Dylan's eyes

Dylan loves the camera. Whenever it's in reach, he grabs it to take photos or movie clips. It's so funny how we never taught him how to use it but he can turn it on, take a picture, and get it to the play screen and view his photos. I always find random photos/clips on the camera when I go to upload to the computer. He's actually a pretty good shot and he loves to take self-portraits (there are usually about 15 pictures of his face on the camera), and pictures of us and his toys.

Dylan's feet & toys

Dylan's scooter

Thank you Dylan for this photo - now I know what daddy really does in the morning when he gets up with the kids!

Gavin trying to grab the camera from Dylan

A few of the funny things Dylan has said recently:

Getting ready to go in the house, I was telling him to pick up this toy, that toy, etc. He says to me in exasperation "Mommy, you makin' me crazy!"

Today I told him he needed to get his shorts on if he wanted to play out front. Instead I found him in his closet pulling on his shirts playing monkey. I sighed in frustration and said "Get your shorts on!" His response: "Mommy, I'm making you crazy?" Ok so I realize that maybe I tell him way too often that he's driving me crazy!

He loves to compare/contrast now. For example, he was looking at a book with snakes and asks me "Mommy, do you like snakes?" Of course I said no. He says "I don't like snakes either, because I like bugs...BUT (he always empasizes this word) Gavin likes snakes!" It amazes me how he knows how to use the word "either" in a sentence and that he can connect opposing things with "but."

I have finally signed him up for preschool. I was a little hesitant because he has always told me he will go to school when he's bigger, but he wants to stay home with mommy and Gavin. However, I decided the socialization and structure will be good for him (and maybe mommy won't get so "crazy!"). He toured the school twice last week and had a blast both times. I checked out a couple books on preschool at the library and one of them has become his favorite book and he loves to talk about his school now. Yeah!! He will only be going two days a week for half days to start but it will be a nice transition for us. I am realizing how quickly he is growing up and trying to hold onto this precious age and enjoy it while I can.

Summer Fun

Our trip to San Diego this year was a blast and it was so fun to celebrate my birthday with my family. The kids and I stayed for two weeks and it was so relaxing for me to have so many helpful hands - I returned to Florida very refreshed! Daddy headed back a little earlier to go back to work and Grandma Meeks graciously offered to fly back to Florida with me to help with the kids. She even stayed with us for a few extra days of Grandma time!

Thankfully, Sea World is a short drive so we were able to go once with my family and back later in the week for the night shows with friends. Dylan absolutely loved it and even liked the rides, which I thought he would be afraid of. His favorite animals were the penguins and the polar bears. He loved the Shamu show and the Dolphin show but the show he wanted to see again featured cats and dogs called "Pets Rule." It was a very cute show!
Thanks mom for treating all of us to a girls spa outing!!

Dylan enjoying the morning paper with his buddies, Bop-on (Grandpa) and Uncle Ray. He and Uncle Ray quickly became best friends and it was so fun to watch them pal around together.

Pool fun with Riley and Jaeger. We loved having time with my brother and his family! Also, Dylan loved the boogie boards. Every day there was boogie boards in the house, in the yard, all over the place as Dylan played his endless boat games. Funny how he is so intrigued with boating play but he is scared to death of our boat. Sorry daddy...

A day in Coronado Island with just mommy, daddy, Dylan, and Gavin. What a perfect day to enjoy the beach and the San Diego skyline.

The whole gang!!

Dylan pretty much lived outside. He had so much fun riding the big wheel Harley, playing boats, having "tea-ta" parties with Grandma, watering the flowers, and just enjoying the summer weather!

We had many opportunities to catch up with old friends and feel so blessed to have such a great group of friends in California. It is hard to be far apart from you all but we are thankful to you for making time for us while we were in town! We love you!!